Following up her new single, “Island In The Sun,” Winona Oak has returned today with more new music for Scandi-pop lovers. Born Johanna Ewana Ekmark, the Swedish singer-songwriter is readying her debut album, and “Baby Blue” is the second single we’ve heard so far. In the song, she remembers a past lover who didn’t love her like they should’ve.
Here’s what she had to say about the track:
“I wish I knew earlier in my life that your self-worth has nothing to do with how other people treat you. When you exhaust yourself trying to save them from themselves, lying to protect them, sacrificing your own needs and getting your heart broken over and over again – you may realize that sometimes you have no other choice than to leave to stay alive. It’s a tough lesson to learn that someone you love doesn’t care about you, maybe they wish they could but they just aren’t capable and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to change that. And maybe one day you will learn that your happiness isn’t reliant upon the happiness of others and that you deserve to feel loved, no matter what.”
Check out the video up top and keep an eye out for Winona’s album, coming this June.
Wang shared a new single and video from the record today, and “Blow” is the first English language single Wang has shared so far in 2022. In the video, directed by longtime collaborator Daniel Cloud Campos, Wang is part of a heap of partygoers who seem like they’ve had enough for the night. Then, the entire crew awakens and gets into a dancing mood, blowing smoke and bringing the heat with synced up choreography. “Blow” follows up a pair of 2021 singles from Wang, “Drive You Home” and “LMLY,” all of which precede his new album, which is coming very soon.
Aside from being a solo musician, Wang is also a creative director and fashion designer and the founder of TEAM WANG, a record label, and Team Wang Designs, a design studio. In addition to all that, Wang is also a member of the K-Pop group, Got7.
In his latest music video, London rapper and singer Bakar allows us to see his city by way of his own lens. In “NW3,” Bakar is seen dancing on a rooftop as the sun sets. The camera then cuts to him enjoying a meal with friends, riding in the back of a car, and smoking in his home. By the end of the video, Bakar returns to the same rooftop as the sun rises.
“I’ve always been here to be an alternative for the Black kids that don’t fit in,” said Bakar of the visual in a statement.
The music video was directed by the duo Machine Operated, comprised of Nathan Taylor and Joshua Hercules who have previously directed clips for Rejjie Snow and the late MF Doom.
Bakar also said of the song, “I had moved to Hampstead, a nicer area. I had gone from the bottom of the hill in Camden, Chalk Farm, to being at the top of the hill. That’s a crazy thing to do from where I’m from. I guess the whole concept is me saying to a girl, ‘I think I’ve found the spot. There’s a whole new world up here, the top of the hill, it looks different. Come see it.’”
The name of the cut from his debut album, Nobody’s Home, refers to the UK postal code for Hampstead, London.
Check out “NW3” above.
Nobody’s Home is out now via Black Butter. Get it here.
During a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan basically issued a warning to Spotify that he’ll quit if the platform tries to water down his show or force him to censor it in any way. Rogan made the declaration to MMA fighter Josh Barrett who was a guest on the show and revealed that he was afraid people would “pore over every single thing I say.” Barrett even admitted to confiding in his wife that he was “stressed” about the whole thing.
While Rogan did little to assuage those fears by telling Barrett flat-out that people will pore over everything he says, the podcaster made it a point to say that the show is “just a conversation.” However, should Spotify attempt to mess with that formula, Rogan threatened to walk. Via Deadline:
“If I become something different because it grew bigger, I will quit. If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s, f*** that!” said a defiant Rogan of the show with millions of listeners for which he is paid $100 million.
Those are bold words from Rogan, who issued two apologies earlier in the year. One of those was for repeatedly saying the N-Word, and the other was for not being better about having experts on his show after musicians like David Crosby pulled their music off Spotify in protest of the podcaster spreading misinformation about COVID-19, particularly the vaccines. Both of those seem like clear cases of Rogan walking on eggshells and minding his “p’s and q’s” to keep his highly lucrative podcast deal. In fact, when offered a matching salary to move all of his content, uncensored, to Rumble, Rogan stuck with Spotify.
Sour was a terrific debut album for Olivia Rodrigo: It topped the charts, is home to two No. 1 singles in “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U,” and it established Rodrigo as a global music star. When it comes to Rodrigo’s next album, though, it looks like things will be different in terms of its emotional tone.
A new feature from Elle references a moment from Driving Home 2 U in which Rodrigo half-jokingly says to Dan Nigro, “Hopefully I won’t be so sad on the next record.” In the interview, Rodrigo expanded on that, saying, “I’m definitely not as sad as I was when I wrote Sour. I’m so excited to make my next record and explore more colors and textures and feelings and grow as a human being even more. I’m really stoked for that.”
Elsewhere, she discusses the lyrics of “Brutal,” specifically the line, “‘Cause who am I if not exploited?” Rodrigo said, “My gosh, it’s so funny. I look back at it and I was like, ‘Wow, I was so angsty.’ […] I guess I was just coming to terms with being like a really young person in the industry and feeling weird about it. But I don’t think I feel that way anymore, which is nice.”
Bridgerton‘s second season doesn’t have quite as much sex appeal as the first installment, but it’s still (already) broken a viewing record and has been putting earworms where they duly belong. For that reason, and even without the Duke on hand, Netflix and Shondaland have seen fit to start spinning the series off, even beyond the already planned third and fourth seasons.
Man, Lady Whistledown and her ilk are going to stay busy. That’s because there’s a Queen Charlotte spinoff in the works already, with a table reading and everything. Netflix issued a press release about the upcoming limited series that will frame itself around Charlotte’s origins, both historical and otherwise detailed. So far, there’s no title on the show, but expect to see the love life of Young Charlotte (who was forced to marry her husband) with appearances from Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury.
If you love Golda Rosheuvel in this role, don’t worry. She’s on board, as are Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury) and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Bridgerton) in their usual capacity. And stepping into the shoes of Young Queen Charlotte? That would be India Amarteifio. Do you want a photo receipt? Here you go, courtesy of Netflix.
Netflix
And since we’re already talking about Charlotte, there’s been some discussion out there on her, uh, snorting habit.
Netflix
What gives? Well, Benedict and Colin Bridgerton dig their opium, but Charlotte’s clearly into something else. It’s apparently snuff, and Charlotte does enjoy her flavored tobacco. As Golda Rosheuvel recently told Decider, though, she’s actually snorting sugar.
“I think it’s like glucose stuff. At the end of the day I’m like, yeah, wild sugar rush,” Rosheuvel told Decider. “It’s harmless, it’s fine. Absolutely harmless.” And the Queen has spoken.
Bridgerton‘s second season is currently streaming on Netflix.
Initially dropping her dark and dramatic single “Boyfriend” last month, film and TV star Dove Cameron gave fans a preview of the video last night, and now that it’s here the full visual does not disappoint. The actress is gearing up to introduce listeners to her mature new sound, and it sounds like “Boyfriend” is just the beginning of a new era for the multi-hyphenate performer. As the lyrics of the song reflect a queer crush, the video, which was directed by Lauren Sick, doubles down on fatal attraction between two women.
Kicking off with the pair locking eyes across the room at a dark club while everyone else dances aimlessly, the two move toward each other, and when they connect the chemistry is electric. Quickly taking their makeout session to a graffiti-covered phone booth, and then taking a late night joy ride through a tunnel, where these two continue making out in the convertible! That seems like hook-up goals to me. Guess the boyfriend should’ve never left Dove’s crush alone, because it looks like it’s over for him. Check out the steamy video above and keep an ear out for more new music, from Dove which is likely coming very soon.
As if low-carb diet fads weren’t already a big enough blow to the pasta industry, the gluten-free trend was hot on its heels (which for people with Celiac disease or gluten allergies, was more than just a trend). Pasta producers and the food industry have tried to keep pace by producing gluten-free alternatives, and now the gluten-free noodle category is positively booming.
But just because there are a lot of wheat-free pastas to choose from doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re good. Not all the offerings on the market are created equal, and as I learned in my blind tasting of grocery store-brand spaghetti, a lot of them are truly foul. The biggest issues with gluten-free pastas seems to be a lack of stretch, breakage (aka brittle noodles), and separation. In some of the worst ones, the image of separate noodles is merely an illusion, devolving into vaguely noodly clumps when you cook them, with odd-tasting bites that seem to dissolve in your mouth.
“Melt in your mouth” is a compliment for a steak. It is not a prized characteristic in noodles.
I included a few token gluten-free options in my previous spaghetti ranking and on the whole they fared… poorly. This time around, we thought why not level the playing field, pitting gluten-free options against other gluten-free options, and include as many of them as we could find? A lot of them, once again, were pretty bad. The surprise was that a few of them weren’t. Maybe not good enough to beat glutenous pasta head-to-head, but good enough that you wouldn’t notice. Or at least good enough to be worthwhile options in their own right.
A note on method:
I tasted these blind, boiled in four cups of water with one tablespoon of salt. I usually let them boil 10-11 minutes, but if they seemed done or not done, I took them out early or let them boil longer as needed.
Vince Mancini
Today’s Lineup:
Andean Dream, Made With Organic Quinoa
Rummo Gluten-Free Spaghetti Made With Rice And Corn
Banza Spaghetti Made From Chickpeas
365 Gluten-Free Spaghetti With Corn And Rice
Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice Quinoa Spaghetti
Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta
DeLallo Gluten-Free Pasta Made With Whole Grain Rice
Trader Joe’s Organic Yellow Lentil Brown Rice Pasta
Looks: Pale, sort of greyish. A little grain to the exterior but mostly looks like noodles.
Smell: Something more pungent to the nose. What is that? An Earthy-grainy aroma that I can’t quite place.
Taste: Still VERY al dente, even after 10 minutes-plus of hard-boiling. Almost inedible. Sourdough-like flavor. Big time no from me dog. 1/10
Bottom Line:
Perhaps it was a flaw of our test that we didn’t follow the cooking instructions of each individual pasta for this test, stupidly assuming that they’d all be as similar as their glutinous cousins. This one suggests a hard boiling for 1-2 minutes, followed by leaving it in the pot for “about 18 minutes.”
20 minutes to cook pasta??? Shit, man, if it’s gonna take that long I might as well just kill and butcher a goat.
Look: Revolting, like one big, stuck-together mass. I don’t know if I boiled these too long or not enough but it certainly appears that something has gone very wrong.
Smell: Stale. That’s the only way I can describe it. Like stale air.
Taste: This just doesn’t “noodle” at all. It’s essentially a bean pie with noodle lines drawn on it. It tastes like dissolving powder with no stretch or pull to it. And it sticks to your teeth. Nah. 2/10.
Bottom Line:
Let me quote from the cooking instructions: “Lets Get Cooking: 1. Add pasta 8 cups of boiling watter [sic] and stir immediately. 2. Cook uncovered for 7-10 minutes or until firmness is reached. Begin testing at 5 minutes and stir occasionally. Do not overcook. 3. Drain and rinse pasta in hot water and serve. Note: Water will turn yellow from the corn starches. This is normal.”
So, basically, I cooked them correctly and they still came out this bad.
Looks: Rust red in color, with thick and smooth noodles. They look a bit wiry.
Smell: Like funky bean powder. Vaguely feet-like.
Taste: Just way too bean-y. Yuck. I’m reaching for the water. This tastes like dry hummus shaped into noodles. 2/10
Bottom Line:
My comments about the red color and beany taste don’t make a ton of sense for a cauliflower product, until you check the fine print and realize that these are made with “lentil, pea, and cauliflower flours.” Which I don’t think is a problem in and of itself (there are other lentil and pea products on this list ranked much higher) but these are… well these are basically dog food.
Absolutely not.
13. Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice Quinoa Spaghetti
Vince Mancini
Price: I paid $3.29 at Trader Joe’s
Vince Mancini
Original Notes:
Look: This one already looks gross and gloopy, with excess residue and lots of broken noodles.
Smell: Weird in a way I can’t quite identify, like baby food.
Taste: Noodles clumpy, mealy, mushy. Taste actually isn’t bad but the texture is just so, so bad. Trash mouthfeel. 3/10.
Bottom Line:
The notes kind of say it all with this one. You can tell just from looking at it that whatever they’ve got going on here isn’t good at resembling a noodle.
Look: Translucent brown, somehow both grainy and gelatinous.
Smell: Neutral smell.
Taste: Weird sticky texture, can’t tell if I boiled it too long or not enough. It’s sort of mushy and chewy at the same time. And it sticks to your teeth. 3/10.
Bottom Line: According to the package:
“Cassava is a root vegetable that is ground whole and dried into a fiber-rich flour that we use to make this incredible, grain free pasta. Sustainable farming is at the heart of jovial mission, and cassava is an ingredient with a great story. Cassava grows in marginal soil with little water, and produces more calories per acre that wheat and corn, making it a staple for over half a billion people worldwide.”
That is a great story! And cassava doesn’t stink like some of the other alternative noodle materials, which makes me think it has potential. Unfortunately, it seems like they just didn’t grind this flour fine enough and the noodles themselves might be too thick as well. You’re meant to boil these for 13 damned minutes. This one was made in Italy, like a lot of the favorites on this list, but I think they need to go back to the drawing board.
11. Trader Joe’s Organic Yellow Lentil and Brown Rice Pasta
Look: Much redder color, sort of iron-rust colored.
Smell: A pretty strong bean aroma.
Taste: The texture is just off somehow. It separates nicely, but it’s sort of stiff and wiry and brittle, with no elasticity to it. It has a bean powder flavor, which I think isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it does take some getting used to. The texture is what kills it, it’s not really a noodle at all. 4/10.
Bottom Line:
If I’m going to train myself to appreciate a bean-flavored pasta it needs to have a better texture than this.
10. Full Circle Market Spaghetti Made From Corn And Rice
Look: Very bright yellow sunny color, with slightly thinner noodles.
Smell: Pretty pasta-like, actually.
Taste: Texture-wise, they’re a little clumpy and coarse, but not too wiry or powdery. The taste is… is there a grain version of gamey? Something about the flavor isn’t quite right. 5/10.
Bottom Line:
This was another Italian product, and it looked and smelled pretty great, but something about the taste was off. I’m not sure why, since corn and rice seem like pretty straightforward, non-gamey ingredients. Maybe it sat on the shelf too long?
Smell: …Vegetal? Is that beans? Gotta be some bean flour in there smelling like this.
Taste: Very little stretch to the noodles, they break very easily. Texture is mildly chalky, and they dissolve in your mouth a bit. That being said, the taste isn’t bad. Sort of just savory/salty without being too offputting or weird. 6/10.
Bottom Line:
These noodles remind me of a joke: “What’s the difference between a chickpea and a garbanzo bean?” “I’ve never had a garbanzo bean on my chest.” Anyyyyyway, these are sort of replacement-level GF noodles.
Look: Sunny yellow color. Some visible grains in the surface, a fair amount of broken noodles.
Smell: Pasta-like!
Taste: Texture is a bit wiry, with a coarser, grainier chew. Not as much elasticity as a regular wheat noodle, but it tastes alright enough. Like grain, at least. 6/10.
Bottom Line:
Brown rice noodles made up a lot of the worst-ranked choices, but this one fared okay. Seems like the quinoa in there evened out some of the worst qualities of the brown rice.
Smell: Stronger aroma, more of that powdery bean smell.
Taste: Separates nicely and tastes okay, if a little beany. More brittle than the other ones that look sort of like this, and not very elastic. 6/10
Bottom Line:
There were a few noodles that went more for this rustic sort of look. This was the worst of them, but overall they were a lot better than I expected. I tend to think thinner, rougher noodles work a lot better for gluten-free options than the ones that try harder to mimic spaghetti.
Look: Pale white, like rice noodles. Slightly grainy texture.
Smell: Very neutral, maybe a slight hint of veggie on the back end. Hint of cauliflower?
Taste: Chewier than some of the others, doesn’t dissolve into a liquid in your mouth. Though it does have just a wisp of old shoe funk to it. Absorbed more salt than some of the others. 7/10
Bottom Line: Not perfect, but quinoa definitely seems like one of the better alternative grains out there when it comes to getting something resembling glutinous spaghetti.
Look: More lemon yellow, nice and bright. Just visible grains on the outside of the noodles.
Smell: Pretty similar to regular gluten noodles. Nothing too noteworthy or offputting about it.
Taste: Surprisingly pasta-like. It’s a little heartier and with a bit more chew than your standard glutenous noodles, maybe too much, but I prefer this to the melt-in-your-mouth varieties. 8/10
Bottom Line: It’s not 100%, but the Italian-made noodles, by and large, seemed to be better than their American cousins. We have now entered the “actually worth eating” portion of the rankings.
Look: Black, like squid ink noodles, but smaller and grainier.
Smell: Sort of beany. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that this is some kind of a black bean product.
Taste: Pretty good flavor. Not as elastic as the other one that looked thin and hairy like this, but it separates nicely. This one doesn’t really cut it as spaghetti, but it seems like it’d work great in a stir-fry. 7/10.
Bottom Line: This one not tasting terrible was arguably the biggest surprise of the entire ranking. It definitely looks weird because of the color, especially for a tomato-y pasta dish, but I could envision a fair number of uses for this — from chow mein to spring roll filling.
3. DeLallo Gluten Free Pasta Made With Whole Grain Rice
Look: Thinner noodles, pale yellow to yellow-brown, with very small grain flecks.
Smell: Smells like some kind of vegetable powder, maybe chickpea? Something vaguely funky in there.
Taste: These definitely break more than they stretch, but otherwise not bad. They aren’t powdery tasting at all. Actually, the flavor is pretty good, savory but not too strong. 8/10.
Bottom Line: I would’ve never guessed it before this taste test, but apparently brown rice noodles have a gaminess to them. Who knew? A brown rice noodle probably wouldn’t be my first choice based on that, but this was far and away the best of them — another product from Italy.
Look: Like brown Play-Dough Noodles. Vaguely like buckwheat soba, if you’re being generous.
Smell: Sort of like fermenting grain. Bready? This is a new one, aroma-wise. I can’t quite place it.
Taste: The noodles separate nicely, surprisingly. The taste is… weirdly satisfying actually. These are honestly pretty good. Much, much better than I expected and a pretty decent chow mein noodle. 8/10.
Bottom Line: Without the box, these looked just like the Explore Cuisine noodles, but a little better. Edamame (which is a just a soybean) seems like a pretty good choice for noodle material, it doesn’t have nearly the funk of the other kinds of legumes. Again, it doesn’t entirely work as a replacement spaghetti, but it seems like it’d be perfect in a ramen or a chow mein. I never would’ve guessed any of this based on that box, that is some of the most dog-shit box art I’ve ever seen. That box looks like it’s for slug bait I use in my garden.
1. Rummo Gluten Free Spaghetti with Rice and Corn
Vince Mancini
Price: $3.99 at Whole Foods
Vince Mancini
Original Notes:
Look: Sort of yellow-orange, very light grain texture on the exterior.
Smell: Neutral.
Taste: Came out sort of on the al dente side, but not bad. It doesn’t stretch like regular pasta, but otherwise, I’m not sure I’d even know this was gluten-free. Looks by far the most like regular spaghetti and tastes decent too. 9/10.
Bottom Line: There were maybe a couple of others that had arguably better flavor, but this had a fairly neutral flavor and good texture and looked by far the most like regular spaghetti.
Top Dawg Entertainment is entering its next era soon and has been rolling out its latest wave of artists to take advantage of the vacuum that will be left by Kendrick Lamar’s departure after he releases his final TDE album. Last year, the label introduced Long Beach native Ray Vaughn to the fold with the harrowing “Tap” video and earlier this month, announced that it had signed Doechii with the release of her house-influenced single, “Persuasive.”
Today, Doechii doubled down on the new single, releasing a colorful, futuristic-looking video for the single. In it, Doechii displays her quirky fashion sense and leads a troupe of dancers as they vogue for the camera in a ballroom-inspired sequence that plays off the single’s upbeat instrumentation.
Prior to officially signing to the label, Doechii appeared on Isaiah Rashad’s The House Is Burning single “Wat U Sed” and on his Lil’ Sunny’s Awesome Vacation tour, prompting speculation that the LA-based label had picked up the eclectic new artist for its roster. While the confirmation wouldn’t come until recently, the positive reception of Doechii’s guest spots certainly helped, and fans are certainly intrigued to see what she does with the label next.
The Golden Raspberry Awards are known for poking fun at some less-than-stellar performances from some of the best actors. That’s a very nice way of saying that they give out these awards for bad movie roles. Just days ago, The Razzie for Worst Performance By Bruce Willis In A 2021 Movie was given, obviously, to Willis for his role in Cosmic Sin, one of his numerous films from last year– seven to be exact, with another handful being released this year.
Yesterday, Demi Moore revealed the unfortunate news that Willis was diagnosed with a rare brain disorder and plans to retire from acting. Many actors, fans, and co-stars have sent love over to Willis, who has yet to publicly comment on the diagnosis (and, sadly, may not be able to on his own).
Of course, The Razzies felt a ton of guilt for criticizing a man who has been going through some serious health trauma. Today, co-founders J.B. Wilson and Mo Murphy announced they would be rescinding the award.
After much thought and consideration, the Razzies have made the decision to rescind the Razzie Award given to Bruce Willis, due to his recently disclosed diagnosis. If someone’s medical condition is a factor in their decision making and/or their performance, we acknowledge that it is not appropriate to give them a Razzie. As we recently mentioned in a Vulture Interview, extenuating circumstances also apply to Shelley Duvall in The Shining. We have since discovered that Duvall’s performance was impacted by Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the production. We would like to take this opportunity to rescind that nomination as well.
This is just another example of “we never really know what is happening behind the scenes” when it comes to actors working hard to make movies while battling illnesses or other stressors. Hopefully, The Razzies will learn from the situation, instead of blaming management.
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